lucasfilmfandomcom-20200215-history
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an Emmy Award-winning American 3D CGI animated television series created by George Lucas and produced by Lucasfilm Animation with the division Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, Lucasfilm and CGCG Inc.index The series debuted on the US version of Cartoon Network on October 3, 2008. It is set in the fictional Star Wars galaxy, during the same time period as the previous 2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars series (the three-year time period between the films Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith). Each episode has a running time of 22 minutes, to fill a half-hour time slot. In 2007, Star Wars creator George Lucas stated "there will be at least 100 episodes produced about five seasons". Dave Filoni is the supervising director of the series. Genndy Tartakovsky, director of the first Clone Wars series, was not involved with the production, but character designer Kilian Plunkett referred to the character designs from the 2D series when designing the characters for the 3D series. There is also an online comic, depicting story-snippets between the single episodes. The series than released season 6 consisting of 13 episode but was cancelled however Lucasfilm created The Clone Wars Legacy project aiming to get the unproduced episode released. Once The Walt Disney Company took over Star Wars, some parts of Lucas's original canon was removed. Cast *Obi-Wan Kenobi *Anakin Skywalker *Ahsoka Tano *Mace Windu *Yoda *Ki-Adi-Mundi *Eeth Koth *Adi Gallia *Rest of the Jedi Council. *Count Dooku *Asajj Ventress *Mar Tuuk *Wat Tambor *Lott Dod *Nute Gunray *Cad Bane *Osi Sobeck Production At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve Sansweet, head of Lucasfilm fan relations.http://www.starwars.com/community/event/con/f20050712/indexp5.html Sansweet referred to the series as "the next generation of the Star Wars saga, a cutting edge 30-minute, 3-D computer-animation series based on the Clone Wars that take place between Episode II ... and Episode III." Sansweet described the look of the new series as "a melding of Asian anime with unique 3-D animation styling." Primary production will take place at the Lucasfilm Animation facility in Singapore. According to another statement by Sansweet, "Lucasfilm Animation will be hiring a total of about 300 digital artists and others in both California and Singapore locations to produce not only the series, but animated feature films in the years ahead." He said about the series, "to get the series underway, Lucasfilm Animation has hired key production and creative talent to lead the development of its first animation project." Sansweet has said that "a large component of the future of Star Wars and Lucasfilm is CGI animation." Lucasfilm Ltd. and Lucasfilm Animation used Autodesk software to animate both the film and the series. The Maya 3D modeling program was used to create the highly detailed worlds, characters and creatures.[http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1845253/ "Autodesk Maya software serves as animation platform for new Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated feature film and TV series."] TradingMarkets.com, August 26, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-09-03. Animators also reviewed designs from the [[Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003 TV series)|original 2003 Clone Wars series]] when creating the animation style for the film and the new series.Martinez, Kiko. [http://www.extranews.net/news.php?nid=4031 "Hispanic animator helps create new Star Wars universe."] Extra, August 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-09-03. Anthony Daniels, who portrayed C-3PO in all six films as well as the Star Wars Holiday Special, Star Wars: Droids and Star Wars: Clone Wars, confirmed in June 2006 that he had been contracted for the series. In a video interview with Rob Coleman from Imagina 2007 divulged that there were 15 episodes in production, one episode was complete, he was going to direct 5 of the first 22 episodes, reaction from licensees was very positive, and that final assembly of shows is done at Skywalker Ranch. At Lucas' March 3, 2007 appearance at the 2007 William S. Paley Television Festival, Lucas revealed the series is episodic, and as such will not focus on Anakin Skywalker's story; with episodes dedicated to clone troopers and other characters. Lucas revealed further information in a fan interview, a new character named Ahsoka Tano, over 100 episodes and a possible appearance by Boba Fett. In an interview in the September 24, 2007 issue of TV Guide, Lucas confirmed that 39 episodes of the series have been completed.George Lucas on his two Star Wars TV series, Heroes and HBO's Rome – Celebrity and Entertainment News | TVGuide.com On April 8, 2007, Ain't It Cool News reported that musician Eric Rigler had recorded music for the series. Rigler disclosed that each planet in the Star Wars galaxy would have its own theme music. The episode Mr. Rigler performed on was based on Bulgarian music and played on Uilleann pipes. Kevin Kiner composes the original score for each episode. Stuart Snyder, who oversees Cartoon Network and other Turner Broadcasting System cable networks, said he became interested in the new Clone Wars series immediately upon starting the job in May 2007. Snyder flew out to San Francisco, California to screen several episodes, and told Lucas the only place he wanted to see the show was on Cartoon Network. Snyder wished to create an action/adventure block of shows on Friday night in an attempt to rejuvenate Cartoon Network. Snyder expressed confidence that the shows would help boost ratings: "You catch me at a time where I have a smile on my face because of our internal results". "I can say there's a little bit of bragging on the third quarter for us."Swartz, Kristi E. "Cartoon Network is eager to use the force." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2008-09-02. Retrieved on 2008-09-03. Broadcast The Clone Wars premiered on October 3, 2008 at 9 p.m. on the Cartoon Network. The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network is shown in a 16:9 (1.77:1) aspect ratio, cropped from its original aspect ratio (OAR) of 2.35:1 (as seen in the UK Sky Premiere screenings). The show began airing on Adult Swim as of March 14, 2009, making the series the first Cartoon Network series to simultaneously air on both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Star Wars: The Clone Wars also aired from January 15, 2009 to March 26, 2009 on TNT. This show was the first animation aired on that channel in over a decade."Star Wars: The Clone Wars" Hits Theaters, TV – Animated Saga Will Air on Cartoon Network, TNT, Zap2It.com, February 12, 2008 An August 29, 2012 news release by the producers announced that the Season 5 premier will be broadcast September 29, 2012 with episodes continuing weekly on Saturday mornings at 9:30 am. Also announced was that Seasons 1 & 2 would be entering syndication in September 2012. It will be broadcast for the first time outside of the Turner Broadcasting System cable networks and for the first time over-the-air in the USA. A state-by-state list of local television stations and broadcast times was also released. Trifecta Entertainment and Media announced that they will be handling U.S distribution. When The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm, they announced that Star Wars: The Clone Wars would be cancelled to focus on the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It is said that Season 6 of the series has been finished and was currently in the process of Season 7. These episodes are to be released as 'bonus episodes', though it is unsaid how these said episodes, including 2 major story arcs, possibly even more, will be released. Then they took certain parts out of canon. .http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/56977852706/thats-it-for-this-months-q-a-hope-you-enjoyed Reception Despite the negative response to the show's movie counterpart, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has been better received, with a Metacritic score of 64/100 for Season 1. On July 11, 2008, television critics were shown a completed episode of the series. The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog called the footage "likely the most photo-realistic animated TV series ever produced."First look: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' TV series thrfeed.com On August 31, 2008, a sneak peek of the new series was shown on Cartoon Network. IGN named it the 89th best animated series. They specifically praised the episodes "Rookies", "Cloak of Darkness", and "Lair of Grievous" saying that their storylines stood out as some of the best in the ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe. Star Wars: The Clone Wars became most-watched series premiere in Cartoon Network history. The series averaged 3 million total viewers in its debut, according to Nielsen Media Research. Cartoon Network said the Star Wars spin off ranked as the number one channel among all major animated networks in the time slot among total viewers (the largest in the demographic for any premiere telecast of an original Cartoon series). On July 23, 2010 at the San Diego Comic-Con; Craig Glenday, editor of the Guinness World Records presented Star Wars: The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni, CG supervisor Joel Aron and lead designer Kilian Plunkett a certificate proclaiming the cartoon series "the highest rated sci-fi animation currently on television".Record-Breaking Clone Wars Series to Visit Kamino From Season 1 to Season 2, the viewers in the US were roughly around 2.75 – 3 million. In Season 3 however, viewership has been around 1.5 - 2 million with the episode "Citadel Rescue" being the least viewed at 1.55 million viewers. For Season 4, it has suffered lower viewership from around 1.9 to 1.3 million, however until mid-season it has picked up from around 1.3 to 2 million views, with "Mercy Mission" standing out as the least viewed episode with 1.35 million viewers. Season 5's viewership had a viewership ranging from 1.3 to 2.1 million with the finale episode "The Wrong Jedi" having 2.18 million viewers and episode "A Necessary Bond" with the lowest views at 1.39 million. Awards 36th Annie Awards *Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form: Kevin Kiner for "Rising Malevolence" (nominated) 37th Annie Awards *Music in a Television Production: Kevin Kiner for "Weapons Factory" (nominated) 38th Annie Awards *Best Animated Television Production for "ARC Troopers" (nominated) *Voice Acting in a Television Production: Corey Burton as Baron Papanoida (nominated) *Voice Acting in a Television Production: Nika Futterman as Asajj Ventress (nominated) *Writing in a Television Production: Daniel Arkin for "Heros On Both Sides" (nominated) 2010 Teen Choice Awards *Choice TV Animated Show (nominated) 39th Annie Awards *Best General Audience Animated TV Production (nominated) *Animated Effects in an Animated Production: Joel Aron (nominated) *Voice Acting in a Television Production: Nika Futterman as Asajj Ventress (nominated) *Voice Acting in a Television Production: Dee Bradley Baker as Clone Troopers (nominated) *Editing in Television Production: Jason W.A. Tucker (nominated) 2011 BTVA Awards *Best Male Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role: Corey Burton as Count Dooku (nominated) *Best Male Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role: Tom Kane as Yoda (nominated) *Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role: Barbara Goodson as Mother Talzin (won) *Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role: Nika Futterman as Asajj Ventress (nominated) *Best Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Guest Role: Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn (nominated) *Best Vocal Cast in a Television Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (nominated) 2012 Critics' Choice Television Awards *Best Animated Series (nominated) PAAFTJ Television Awards 2012 *Best Animated Series (nominated) *Best Directing For An Animated Series for Brian Kalin O’Connel in “Slaves of the Republic” (nominated) 40th Annie Awards *Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production: Joel Aron (nominated) *Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production: Keith Kellogg (nominated) *Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production: Sam Witwer as Darth Maul (nominated) *Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production: Jason Tucker (nominated) 40th Daytime Emmy Awards *Outstanding Special Class Animated Program (won) *Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program: Jim Cummings as Hondo Onhaka (nominated) *Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program: David Tennant as Huyang (won) *Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program: Sam Witwer as Darth Maul (nominated) *Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program: Dave Filoni, Kyle Dunlevy, Brian Kalin O'Connell, Steward Lee, Bosco Ng (nominated) *Outstanding Music Direction and Composition: Kevin Kiner (nominated) *Outstanding Sound Mixing - Animation: David Acord & Cameron Davis (nominated) 2013 Critics' Choice Television Awards *Best Animated Series (nominated) Episodes Feature film After viewing some of the completed footage of the early episodes on a big screen, the production team decided to weave the first few planned episodes together to form a theatrical release. Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, and Samuel L. Jackson reprised their roles as Count Dooku, C-3PO, and Mace Windu, respectively, from the live action films. On December 5, 2011, a full-length feature cut of the Season 3 trilogy episodes, "Nightsisters", "Monster", and "Witches of the Mist" was released for download on iTunes as an uninterrupted movie that was previously shown at selected screenings in 2010. The three episodes were written by Katie Lucas, who had previously written the Season 1 episode "Jedi Crash" and the Season 3 episodes "Sphere of Influence" and "Assassin". TV series Seasons one through four consists of 22 episodes and season five contains 20 episodes. George Lucas has said he would like to make at least 100 episodes, regardless of the ratings, a quest he has fulfilled. A repeat of season one aired in "decoded" episode format. Each installment contained unobtrusive text windows giving supplemental information about the characters and events playing out on screen. Home media releases A Galaxy Divided was an early DVD release of the series which included the first four episodes ("Ambush, "Rising Malevolence", "Shadow of Malevolence", "Destroy Malevolence"), and Clone Commandos is another, which includes episode five "Rookies" as well as episodes 19 through 21 ("Storm over Ryloth", "Innocents of Ryloth" and "Liberty on Ryloth"). Darth Maul Returns is a feature-length "director's cut" edited together from Season 4 episodes "Massacre", "Bounty", "Brothers" and "Revenge" and was initially available exclusively at Target. Video games Five video games have been released, which are based on the style and character designs of the series. *''Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels'' released on November 11, 2008 for Wii. *''Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance'' released on November 11, 2008 for Nintendo DS. *''Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes DS'' released on October 9, 2009 for Nintendo DS. *''Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes'' released on October 9, 2009 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2. *''Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars'' released in March 2011 by TT Games for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Mac, and Nintendo 3DS, and further stylizes the characters as part of the Lego Star Wars theme. *''Clone Wars Adventures'' launched in October 2010 online. International release References External links * * * * * Category:Star Wars Category:Television series Category:Animated series Category:Media